[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 222 (Thursday, November 18, 1999)] [Notices] [Page 63061] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 99-30111] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Power Reactor Decommissioning; Entombment; Workshop; AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Announcement of workshop on power reactor entombment. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold a workshop from 9:00 am-4:00 pm December 14-15, 1999, to discuss the feasibility of entombment as a reactor decommissioning option. The workshop will be held in the TWFN Auditorium of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: An information paper discussing the technical feasibility of entombment as a decommissioning option for power reactors was given to the Commission (SECY-99-187) on July 19, 1999. The information paper is available on the NRC public website and can be viewed at www.nrc.gov/NRC/COMMISSION/SECYS/index.html. The information paper provides the staff's assessment of the viability of the entombment option for decommissioning power reactors. The staff informed the Commission that, as a next step in considering entombment as a decommissioning option, they intend to conduct a workshop in the near future. The purpose of this workshop is to obtain public comment on the issues associated with considering entombment on an equal basis with other decommissioning alternatives. Issues that the NRC proposes to discuss include: 1. How meaningful are the assumptions in the PNNL report that institutional controls will be effective? 2. Does the PNNL analysis rely too much on long term engineering features that would be needed for entombment? What criteria would be used for approving a licensee's request for using the entombment option, and what quantitative values could be examined for establishing the high degree of contaminant isolation confidence that would be considered acceptable? 3. What financial provisions would be required to pay for the future expenses that could be expected during the time when restrictions for the entombment must be maintained? 4. How significant would the entombment option be on State resources if it were implemented? 5. If new legislation were required for disposing of the GTCC waste through the entombment option, is it worth pursuing? Is the current legislation consistent with what has been implemented by the NRC for LLW disposal of GTCC waste for case-specific circumstances, including considerations of eventual license termination? What is the role of DOE with respect to the GTCC waste considerations? 6. Is entombment consistent with the LLW Policy Act, which encourages centralized disposal and the encouragement of regional compacts, as well as economic incentives through exclusivity by only permitting disposal of LLW in a 10 CFR Part 61 licensed facility? 7. What is the opinion of the States on the entombment option? Is the possibility of ultimate or long term management by the State a concern? 8. Is there any indication of the number of licensees intending to use the entombment option? The workshop agenda will be posted on the NRC Web site at www.nrc.gov/RES/meetings.html by November 19, 1999. Interested persons are invited to attend the meeting. Anyone interested in making a presentation at the workshop should contact the individual listed below. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Carl Feldman, Radiation Protection, Environmental Risk and Waste Management Branch, Division of Risk Analysis and Applications, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001, telephone (301) 415-6194. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 12th day of November 1999. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Cheryl A. Trottier, Chief, Radiation Protection, Environmental Risk and Waste Management Branch, Division of Risk Analysis and Applications, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research. [FR Doc. 99-30111 Filed 11-17-99; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P